In general, a slide fastener is manufactured by configuring a fastener stringer by attaching a synthetic resin or a metal fastener element to an opposing side edge portion of a woven or knitted fastener tape, and further, to one set of two fastener stringers that are obtained, a slider is slidably attached to element rows of left and right fastener stringers. In the slide fastener, the opposing fastener elements are coupled with and separated from each other by sliding the slider along the element rows.
Conventionally, various designs have been carried out in clothes or bags using the slide fastener, and further, new designs are required in order to further enhance values of products. Further, in recent years, design has been required even in the slide fastener used in the clothes or bags, and the fastener tape or the fastener element having various patterns or colors have come into the market.
As a method of applying a pattern or a color to the fastener tape or the synthetic resin fastener element, for example, a method is known, in which a heat transfer sheet having a predetermined pattern is attached to the fastener tape and the synthetic resin fastener element in a state of a fastener chain, and thereafter, heat treatment is applied to the fastener chain and thus the pattern is transferred to the fastener stringer.
Further, for example, JP 4-24004 A (Patent Document 1) discloses a method and an apparatus of dyeing a slide fastener by an inkjet method.
In the method of dyeing the slide fastener disclosed in Patent Document 1, an ink droplet is ejected from a nozzle head onto one surface of a fastener chain to which a synthetic resin fastener element is attached to print a desired pattern on the fastener tape and the fastener element, and thereafter, heat treatment is applied to the fastener chain printed with the pattern to dye a dye to the fastener tape and the fastener element.
In particular, in Patent Document 1, the fastener element fixed to the fastener tape is configured by using a synthetic resin of the same type as the fastener tape. As a result, by carrying out printing by the inkjet method, a pattern which is formed in a continuous manner from one tape surface of the fastener tape to the other tape surface of the fastener tape through the surface of the fastener element can be applied to the fastener chain.
In general, when the printing by the inkjet method is carried out on articles made of metal, leather, hard rubber, or the like, ink attached to the surface of the article does not permeate or is not applied on the surface due to the material of the article. As a result, for example, when a printing surface by the inkjet method contacts or grazes the other member, the ink is easily separated from the surface, and as a result, durability of a printed pattern is low.
In order to solve the above problem, for example, JP 2002-187340 A (Patent Document 2) discloses a printing method that improves durability of a printed pattern.
To briefly describe the printing method disclosed in Patent Document 2, first, cleaning process is carried out on the surface of an article to be printed, and a primer layer as an adhesive layer is formed on the cleaned surface. In Patent Document 2, a material of the primer layer is not defined in detail.
Subsequently, an undercoat liquid is ejected or applied onto the primer layer to form an undercoat layer, and printing by aqueous ink is carried out on the undercoat layer. Further, after a printing surface attached with the aqueous ink is dried, a transparent top coat layer is formed at least on an entire printing surface.
By using the printing method of Patent Document 2, for example, the printing by the inkjet method can be carried out on the article made of the metal, leather, hard rubber, and the like, and further, high durability is obtained with respect to the pattern printed onto the article.